


Spring Twenty

by Motz



Category: Stardew Valley (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Fluff, Gender-Neutral Farmer, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-12
Updated: 2016-04-12
Packaged: 2018-06-01 20:46:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6535642
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Motz/pseuds/Motz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A story about the events that took place on Spring 20, in two separate years. How much could Shane's life have changed in just two years...?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Spring Twenty

**Author's Note:**

> Um... Hello! Like a few others in the fandom, this is my first fanfic in MANY years (I would guess 8 or so years for me). As such, I have no idea how to use this new-fangled tagging system. So if you have any suggestions for how else I should tag this, please feel free to let me know!

# Spring, Year... 0?

When the clock struck 5 o’clock, Shane was already halfway through the door leading out of Joja Mart. He looked into the distance, somewhat relieved to see anything besides the fluorescent glow that perpetuated Joja Mart. He was quickly brought back to the dull reality of life, however, when a single raindrop splattered against his cheek. Of course, just as his shift ended, it had to start raining. He briefly considered sitting under the Joja Mart awning until the rain subsided, until he remembered when Sam tried to do the exact same thing last month when a freak snowstorm started just a few hours before the end of his shift. After no more than ten minutes had passed, Morris stormed out of the building just to berate Sam for supposedly blocking (he really wasn’t) the entrance. Yeah, like anybody was going to walk all the way to Joja Mart in the middle of a snowstorm.

And so Shane decided to walk to the saloon despite the rain that only seemed to pour down harder by the second. Purchasing an umbrella from Joja Mart was never even an option – there was no way Shane would give _anything_ to Morris, much less the very cash that he slaved away for every single day. He did consider walking faster than usual, maybe even jogging there, but in the end he was just too exhausted from his shift to attempt this for even part of the way. He put the hood of his jacket up, but the benefit of doing so was questionable after the first few minutes. After that, the hood was already soaked and felt more like a wet dishrag than any sort of barrier.

After the hour-long walk that seemed like an eternity even though he made this walk every single day, Shane was finally in front of the quaint exterior of the saloon. He opened the door and stepped inside. Although he intended to close it the exact same way that he did every other day, the wind outside had other plans and slammed the door shut. This caused the other customers already inside the saloon to all turn to face the door, wondering who had caused such a loud sound. When they saw Shane standing at the door, dripping rain onto the saloon floor from every part of his body from head to toe, they quietly turned back towards their previous positions. A few were unable to stifle their expressions of pity before turning around. He didn’t mean to slam the door like that, he really hadn’t… But nobody would believe him if he said that, so he didn’t even bother trying.

He sighed and trudged over to his usual spot next to the fireplace, his flip-flops and wet feet squelching against the previously clean saloon floor. Pelican Town was so small that the entire saloon was never completely full, but he still couldn’t bring himself to waste a seat at the bar. Shane decided to lean against the wall for a little while before ordering his first drink. He didn’t want to get water all over the bar anyway. He’d hate to cause any more trouble for Gus and Emily than he was already causing just by being there every night. For the first time since winter, he was actually grateful for the heat radiating from the fireplace. He could slowly feel his bare legs drying from the heat alone. The rest of his body would take quite a while longer to dry off due to the layers of soaked clothes.

After making a sufficient little puddle next to the fireplace, he finally made his way to the bar to order his first drink for the night. Emily caught this movement out of the corner of her eye, and was already filling a mug for him by the time he reached the counter. She approached the end of the bar where Shane was fishing through his wallet (which was also drenched, of course) for the money to pay for his drink. She placed the mug down on the corner of the bar for him while he placed the money next to the drink. This was a familiar scene that the two of them played out multiple times each night. But tonight, it played out a little different from usual.

“This one’s on the house!” Emily said, pushing the money back towards Shane as she kept on her usual grin.

Shane was quite confused. He took a few seconds to figure out what kind of trick this could possibly be but gave up after he was unable to find any one reason more likely than the others filling his mind. “Why…?” he managed out, eyebrows furrowed as the gears inside his mind kept turning.

Emily dropped her smile as she too was overcome with confusion. “What do you mean why?” She paused after this first sentence, expecting the gears to finally click into place any second now. But they never did, so she was forced to continue. “You silly goose, today’s your—“

Before she could even finish, Shane had slammed his hands onto the bar. Not only did Emily jump back a bit due to this sudden movement, but once again every face in the saloon had turned to face him. This was the exact opposite of what he wanted. He didn’t want anyone to notice him. He felt something overwhelming deep inside of him, forcing him to stare downwards instead of forwards to avoid everyone else’s glares. Leaving the money on the bar, he grabbed his drink and spun around. He tried his hardest to utter an apology, but all that escaped his mouth was a low grumble. He had no idea if Emily heard or even understood this grumble, and he didn’t dare look back up once he was next to the fireplace again.

As the night loomed on, he went back to the bar to order another drink quite a few times. And each time he did so, Emily would take the money newly placed upon the counter, but she never took the money that he sat there for the first drink. When he was about to leave for the night, he took a final glance towards the counter. The money was still there, exactly where it was hours ago. He reluctantly scooped the money back off the counter and tossed it into his pocket, not even bothering to properly place it into his wallet. He made his way out of the saloon and back into the rain. Yes, it was still raining. He let out a heavy sigh. He had finally dried off less than an hour ago but was now greeted with the joy of repeating the whole process of getting soaking wet once more. And so Shane walked home, or rather to his Aunt’s home, despite the rain that only seemed to pour down harder by the second. He put the hood of his jacket up, but the benefit of doing so was questionable after the first few minutes.

# Spring, Year 2

When the clock struck 5 o’clock, Shane was already halfway through the door leading out of Joja Mart. He looked into the distance, somewhat relieved to see anything besides the fluorescent glow that perpetuated Joja Mart. The sun reflected off of the trees in the distance, still damp from the afternoon’s sun shower. He thought it was quite the miracle that the rain started while he was already at work and ended well before it was time to leave.

Afraid that the rain would return any second now, Shane decided to set off on his daily walk to the saloon. He strolled somewhat leisurely along the town’s paths, taking care to avoid the puddles along the way. He did consider walking faster than usual, maybe even jogging there in case the rain planned on returning, but in the end he was just too exhausted from his shift to attempt this for even part of the way. The air was somewhat cool for late spring, probably due to the rain earlier. The slowly setting sun was shining so brightly that it would have been impossible to guess that it had rained at all today just from gazing at the sun.

After the hour-long walk that he made every single day, Shane was finally in front of the quaint exterior of the saloon. Maybe it was just his imagination, but the walk seemed a little shorter today. Maybe the cool breeze urged him to walk a little faster without him realizing it. Just as he was a few more steps away from the door, Emily opened the door from the inside and fumbled outside a bit awkwardly.

“Ahaha, what a coincidence seeing you here, Shane!” she managed out, now appearing even more suspicious than before. She wore her trademark smile, but something about it still seemed off.

Shane was quite confused. He took a few seconds to figure out what kind of joke this could possibly be but gave up after he was unable to find any one reason more likely than the others filling his mind. “What…?” he managed out, eyebrows furrowed as the gears inside his mind kept turning. “I come here every day. You of all people should… Well, nevermind.” He decided not to push the subject too much. He’s probably easily forgettable and hard to notice.

He moved towards the door but for some reason Emily did not move from in front of it. “Um…! There’s actually, uh, a bit of a problem in the saloon right now,” she explained, struggling to keep her smile in-tact. “So we’ll have to open a little later than usual tonight. I’m really sorry about that!”

Of course. This had to happen _today_ of all days. Just his luck. “What’s the problem…?” he inquired.

“The… problem…?” Emily dropped her smile as she too was overcome with confusion. She had never expected him to actually ask. Now she was on the spot. “Well, um, some of the basic ingredients we use to make our food are no good. Looks like rats got into ‘em. No way we could serve folks food made with something like that, right?!”

“Sure, I guess… But I just want some drinks, I don’t care if you can’t serve me any food tonight… So I’ll just—“

Before Shane could reach for the doorknob, Emily was making her best attempt at pushing him away from the door from the side. Not only did Shane jump back a bit due to this sudden contact, but once again confusion was obvious on Emily’s face as she tried to continue her explanation. “W-We can’t do that! The other customers would be upset that they can’t come in too, yeah, that’s it! Oh, I know! How about this? There’s a lot of ingredients we need to buy, so why don’t you come with me so it takes fewer trips?”

Why didn’t Gus just go with her…? It was his saloon so he should be the one helping with the work. Shane had _just_ finished his own work. He just wanted to relax after work. Especially today. But he’d hate to cause any more trouble for Gus and Emily than he was already causing just by being there every night. “Whatever…” he grumbled.

Emily, unsure whether this was an affirmative or negative reply to her question, stood in place. Shane started walking towards the store though, and turned back around when he realized he was alone. “What are you doing…? Come on…”

Surprised, Emily caught back up to him and matched his walking pace. They walked in silence for a while, and she was even more surprised when Shane was the one to break the silence. “Wait, isn’t Pierre’s closed already…?” he asked, stopping in his place as he realized that there might be no point in walking any farther.

“Well, yeah, but since we’re both running businesses in this small town, he usually lets us come in after hours if it’s urgent. Even when he’s not there, Abigail or Caroline can usually ring us up.”

He didn’t reply though. Instead, he just continued walking.

\---

Finally, nearly an hour after his downtime was supposed to begin, Shane was in front of the saloon once more. He was carrying two boxes of wheat flour stacked on top of each other, and he also had a plastic shopping bag on each arm with bags of sugar and rice in each. Emily was responsible for about half of what Shane was carrying, if not even less than that. He figured this was the least he could do for wasting space in the saloon every single night for the past few years. He was used to it anyway. This was what he did every day at Joja Mart. He would have rather been standing in his corner drinking by now, but at least this was less of a bother for Gus and Emily.

As they approached the door, Shane slowed down so that Emily could go in front of him and open the door. She was carrying less, and it was her workplace anyway. He didn’t want to scare Gus by waltzing in with boxes and bags when the saloon was supposed to be closed to customers. But Emily wasn’t following along with this plan. Instead, she was slowing down ever more than he was. This annoyed Shane quite a bit, especially after he had walked all the way to the store and helped carry so much back. But he would never say that. He knew it wasn’t his place to criticize anyone.

“Oh! You know what?!” Her sudden exclamation startled Shane since they had just walked all the way back from the general store with only a few words exchanged the whole time. “I need to get something from the storage around back, too.” She slowly but carefully placed her box and bag on the ground. “Sorry, you can go on ahead! I’ll be back in a few minutes!”

Shane felt at a bit of a loss as she disappeared around the side of the building. He really didn’t want to go in first, and he _definitely_ didn’t want to go in all alone. But if he stood here any longer, surely one or two people would walk by and want to go into the saloon. The only thing he didn’t want to do more than go into the saloon alone when it was supposed to be closed was to explain to others that it was supposed to be closed. Choosing between the lesser of two evils, he placed his two boxes on the ground next to Emily’s. He would go in with just the bags, try to explain what happened to Gus, and then come back for the boxes and Emily’s bag. He had it all planned out, but at the same time he was sure that he would mess something up.

He opened the door and stepped inside, and…

“Happy birthday, Shane!”

He dropped both of the plastic shopping bags he had in his hands. This was the fullest he had seen the saloon since he had moved to Pelican Town. Not a single seat was empty, and there were still more people standing. They were all turned to face the door, or rather to face Shane. That strange exclamation that he had never heard before from so many people at once came from all of those people. The bar was lined with a few varieties of both pizza and pepper poppers – his favorite foods. Gus started filling a mug to the brim with beer as soon as he saw Shane walk in. What was happening? Why was this happening…? His head was swirling with an odd feeling.

Out of the pack of people crammed into the saloon, one person navigated their way through the crowd and towards Shane. “Happy birthday!” Shane still wasn’t responding, though. He had no idea what was happening right now, and he was consumed by that feeling. “…Sorry, I might have invited too many people. It’s kind of hard to have a small party in this town, you know.” The farmer reached down to pick up the bags Shane had dropped earlier out of shock. “As soon as I invited five or six people, suddenly the whole town knew the next day.”

“But I thought… Emily said the saloon was closed until…… They needed more ingredients, so I…” He wasn’t able to complete any of the sentences he attempted, but everything he wanted to convey was still understood by the farmer.

“That was just a distraction!” the farmer replied, standing back up from collecting the bags while stifling their laughter. “You got here earlier than usual so I panicked and told Emily to make sure you don’t come in before we’re ready.”

Shane used both of his hands to forcefully rub his eyes. What was going on…? Out of his whole dull life, this had to be the single most perplexing moment. Why was the saloon so packed full of people? Why were his favorite foods already made and waiting at the bar? Why were these foods untouched despite all of the people in the saloon? What was the farmer even saying…? There was a giant puzzle before him, but he was unable to fit any of the pieces together. Nothing added up. “…Why…?” he finally managed to grumble out with a bit of a scowl on his face.

The farmer dropped their smile as they too were overcome with confusion. “What do you mean why?” They paused after this first sentence, expecting the gears to finally click into place any second now. But they never did, so they were forced to continue. “You silly goose, today’s your birthday! Happy birthday, Shane!” The farmer regained their smile and elbowed Shane’s side jokingly, unable to stifle their laughter any longer. “Come on, man, I’ve said it like three times now! Just enjoy your birthday party already!”

Every face in the saloon was still turned to face him. He felt something overwhelming deep inside of him, forcing him to stare downwards instead of forwards to avoid everyone else’s eyes. He just couldn’t process it. This was… all for him…? Everyone had gathered… for him…? He spun around to face the door again in his confusion.

“What’s wrong?” the farmer asked, noticing Shane moving his arms towards his face even though he was facing away from everyone else.

He tried his hardest to utter his appreciation, but all that escaped his mouth was a low grumble. He had no idea if the farmer heard or even understood this grumble, and he didn’t dare turn back around to find out.

“Sorry, what was that…?” The farmer placed their hands on Shane’s back and began spinning him back around to face the crowd again. Shane didn’t realize what was happening (or rather was unable to react quickly enough) and so he couldn’t exert enough force to keep himself in place before it was too late.

“I said… I said thank you, okay?! You don’t have to make a big deal out of it!” he barked out. His negative tone contrasted strongly with his awkwardly smiling face and damp eyes, though.

The farmer’s face lit up instantly. They knew Shane well enough to not take his harsh tone and poorly chosen words to heart. They were unsure whether their own happiness in this moment was from Shane’s unusually honest words of gratitude or from his equally rare smiling face. Maybe it was a bit of both. Perhaps influenced by all of these strange occurrences, the farmer stepped forward and locked Shane in a tight hug.

“H-Hey… Come on, this is really weird,” Shane stuttered out. His face was turning red but he made no physical attempts at getting away from the farmer.

The farmer uttered something out while still in the embrace, but Shane couldn’t hear exactly what had escaped their mouth, muffled by his own clothing. “Sorry, what was that…?” he asked, feeling bad for being unable to hear it, even though this was of no fault of his own.

The farmer finally pulled their head of the embrace and met their own eyes with Shane’s. “It’s nothing, let’s just enjoy the party! Everyone came to celebrate it with you!” Shane could see a hint of disappointment behind the farmer’s red cheeks but decided not to press the farmer to explain themself. At least not now. Maybe another time when the whole town wasn’t watching them. That’s a pretty strong maybe, though. The farmer finally released their grip on Shane but quickly grabbed his wrist instead, leading him over to the bar. “Come on, enjoy it already, you deserve it!”

Guided towards the bar by the farmer, Shane was shocked to see two empty seat even though the saloon was completely full. The farmer sat down in one. That made more sense. The farmer must have been sitting there when he came in. But where did the person in this seat go? He was sure that every seat in the house was filled with how many people were there. The farmer patted the barstool. “It’s _your_ birthday party, have a seat already!”

He nervously scratched the side of his face while trying to find an excuse to not sit down. There were already other people standing here. They should just take the seat. He could just stand in his usual spot. “It’s fine, I’ll just—“

Gus brought an overfull mug to the bar area in front of the empty seat. “Well, you’re welcome to go stand next to the fireplace, but your beer’s staying right here,” he joked.

Shane sighed. He gave up. It was just too much effort to fight back against not only the farmer but Gus as well. He fumbled over and sat down on the bar stool. It was surprisingly comfortable for not having a back. Maybe he was just exaggerating how comfortable it was because he was so tired of standing and walking and bending and lifting all day at work. He had to admit… it was nice to sit while he was at the saloon for once. He closed his eyes, let out one more sigh, and then picked up the mug of beer in front of him. He put the mug to his lips and drank the whole beer in one go.

“Hey now, that’s a little fast—” Before the farmer could even finish, Shane slammed the empty mug back onto the bar. Everybody in the saloon was already preoccupied with their own conversations, and there were so many of these conversations going at once that nobody paid any mind to the loud clank of the mug against the counter.

“That was great!” he shouted, wiping the leftover foam from his grinning face. “I’ll take another one, Gus!”

Gus, who didn’t even have a chance to leave from when he originally gave Shane the first drink, chuckled lightly while picking up the mug. “Sure thing, but don’t forget all the food too!” he shouted back while filling up the mug. “The farmer gave us all of their freshest and highest quality ingredients to make everything,” he added with a wink.

Shane looked at the food – it sure did look even more appetizing than usual – and then back at the farmer. He was about to say something, but the farmer bolted upright while banging their hands on the counter. “I-I’ll have a beer too!” Gus just shook his head while reaching for another mug.

Shane grabbed a slice of pizza and some pepper poppers. After doing so, the others in the bar began taking some as well. Gus brought two beers over with him this time. “T-This is great!” Shane let out. “I’ve never had pizza this good!”

The farmer had never seen him smile ear-to-ear like this. They felt truly relieved and overjoyed to see such a sight. They were probably supposed to say something in reply, but… “Hey, I’m complimenting your pizza, you know? You should at least say thanks or something!” he scolded.

The farmer yanked the mug off of the table and, just as Shane had moments before, downed the whole beer in one go. “Of course it’s good!” they shouted back, slamming the mug on the counter. “The ingredients are from my farm, so _obviously_ it’s good!”

Already holding his half-eaten pizza slice with his right hand, Shane put his left hand on the farmer’s head and ruffled their hair. “You’re so full of yourself!” he managed out in between laughs.

The people who were close enough to Shane and the farmer to overhear this exchange laughed along with him. Shane was right, the farmer was pretty arrogant and overly confident about their farm, especially considering they had only been farming for a little over a year now. Sure, their farm was moderately successful now, but it sure was a far cry from how it looked this time last year. And the farmer was just as full of themself back then too. Not a single person in the town had said anything about it up until this point. They sure were thinking it though.

Marnie, who was sitting on the other side of the farmer, leaned across the bar so that both Shane and the farmer could hear her. “You’re so honest with that farmer, I think it’s really helped soften everyone else’s view of you, Shane,” she mentioned sweetly. “I’m really glad you made such a nice friend.” She really was happy to see her nephew getting along with not just the farmer but also with the rest of the town over time.

The farmer spun around in their bar stool, already prepared to deny such a strong claim. But Marnie had expected this and was already standing up to walk over to Lewis’ table. It was true though, even if the farmer would never believe it. When the farmer first came to town, they blended in with the town pretty well, except of course for their occasional bouts of pride. Besides that, they were conversational and kind, even taking the time out of their busy farm life to give the other townsfolk a gift or two every week. It was hard for some of them to believe that such a low-key person could have come from the city.

And that’s exactly why the townsfolk were surprised to see the farmer trying to talk with Shane at the saloon less than a month after moving to Pelican Town. All of the negativity should stay in the city. Shane should have stayed in the city. The radiant farmer seemed like they _belonged_ in the countryside, so why in the world would they want to talk to someone who exemplified everything about the life that they had already left behind? For quite a while, these attempts were mostly one-sided. The farmer would try to talk to Shane, but Shane would either outright ignore them or verbally push the farmer away.

But one night… One night, both of them had one or two drinks too many. And the farmer made a mistake. A mistake that nobody would even expect to be a mistake. The farmer mentioned that they couldn’t decide between asking Robin to build a barn or a coop first. They had money for one or the other but not both, and they wouldn’t have the money for both for some time.

_“What do you mean, you can’t decide?!” Shane yelled, slamming his drink down on the bar. “Are you an idiot?! Of course you should get the coop first.”_

_Everyone in the saloon went silent and turned to face the source of this shouting. It was a small town, and there had never really been anything close to a bar fight. The farmer should have been just as shocked and confused as the rest of the townsfolk, but a few drinks too many had already clouded their reactions. Instead of responding calmly, the farmer also slammed their own drink down. “Who the hell are you calling an idiot?! Only an idiot wouldn’t want to eat fresh cheese every single day!”_

_Had the topic actually been serious, the other patrons in the saloon probably would have been nervous about where this was going. But they were all a bit baffled at how two people could argue over something so trivial like it was the most important topic in the world. Especially the farmer, who had never before raised their voice like this. “T-T-There’s no way I’m an idiot! An idiot w-would be a farmer who doesn’t want a coop full of b-b-baby chicks!” The alcohol was causing both of them to slur and stutter, and maybe the adrenaline from such a heated debate was adding fuel to the fire as well._

_“Wait, w-who even cares about… baby chicks…?” the farmer let out, somewhat dropping their previously aggressive tone. But Shane’s tone did not follow suit._

_“Who cares?! What did you j-just say?!” Not content with just slamming his drink on the bar, now he had slammed his fists on the bar as well. “I-I’ll never forget h-how stupid you are! It’s a universal t-truth that baby chicks are absolutely a-adorable!”_

_The other patrons couldn’t hold it in any longer. They all started rolling with laughter at this last comment. It was hilarious to hear anybody say that so assertively, but it was even more hilarious to hear something like that come out of Shane’s mouth. Normally, Shane would have been mortified to have so many people laughing at him. He’d be mortified to have even one person laughing at him. But, once again, a few drinks too many… “See, e-everyone’s laughing at you, you dumb f-farmer!” he boasted, standing up with a show of confidence._

And that wasn’t an isolated incident. As they grew more comfortable with each other, these questionable nighttime spats grew more frequent and sometimes even more outrageous. At one point, these spats had become such a quintessential part of life in Pelican Town that someone else in the saloon would occasionally order another round of drinks for the two in hopes of stirring up yet another heated and hilarious but completely unnecessary debate.

As the party carried on, both Shane and the farmer ordered another drink quite a few times. Every so often, one of the townsfolk would come by to egg on a friendly argument between the two. A few of these attempts were successful, especially later in the night, and each successful attempt earned the full attention of the saloon (which was to say, the entire population of the town). The otherwise friendly farmer would scowl and shout with the otherwise silent loner, and everyone in the bar truly got a kick out of their antics.

Shane knew that what Marnie said earlier was right, but there was no way he would ever let the farmer know that. He had lived here for years without having a single birthday party, and he could count on one hand the number of times anyone had even acknowledged his birthday. He was truly grateful that not only the farmer but the whole town was now able to see him in a more positive way than he even viewed himself. But, like many of the other thoughts occupying Shane’s mind for the past few months… there was no way he would ever let the farmer know that.


End file.
